Christmas Delayed
by Leonaria Dragonbane
Summary: Victor gets the one thing he's always wanted for Christmas, but Adolf Hitler steals it away.  Will Santa be able to repair the damage one bad little boy did?  A light hearted  are you kidding  Victor Christmas tale.  ONE SHOT people..don't look for more.


Christmas Delayed

In 1940, Jimmy and Victor are having a little R&R in London before going to the front. The war is just starting, and London is being bombed by German forces. A Canteen Holiday Dance seems like just the thing to loosen up, until Victor catches a faint scent he doesn't want to live without. Grab a doughnut and coffee, put on some Big Bands, and relax, its Christmas...who would think about ruining Christmas.

XXXXXXXXX

"This is stupid." Victor growled at his little brother.

"Come on, if you don't want to dance, grab a sandwich and some coffee, relax a little." Jimmy laughed. "It's a good chance to meet some dolls and maybe get lucky on Christmas."

"I'm not interested in some frail...we're supposed to be on the lines." Victor snarled. Sometimes he thought he'd coddled that boy way too much. All Jimmy thought about most of the time was getting under some frail's skirt. They were soldiers, born to fight, not fuck every frail they saw.

"Yeah, we're shipping out next week, at least that's what Churchill said on the radio today, so lets live a little while we can." Jimmy's grin was actually infectious, and Victor found himself cracking a smile, and nodding.

"Alright, just an hour or so, I wanna get some rack time."

"Great." Jimmy threw his dress shirt and tie at him. Victor groaned but pulled his uniform together. This was what he hated about this shit, normally his BD blouse was fine, but no, he had to dress up for these damned Canteen things. He twisted the damned tie into place and grabbed his jacket. One of these days, he was going to beat the living shit out of Jimmy for dragging him to things like this.

XXXXXXXXXX

**...Across London**

"Dr. Greely, you really need ta take a night off." She glared at the British nurse. This officer exchange program was fine, except when she was feeling particularly homesick, and Christmas Eve made her homesick. It didn't help that she'd been awake for seventy-two hours straight, spent sixteen hours in surgery last night, and couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten. She wasn't just homesick, she was cranky.

"My patients need me here." She started.

"And they all have a battalion of nurses lookin' after them. Go, get somethin' ta eat at least." She grumbled, and growled, and snarled, but it all just got her pushed towards the door faster. Sometimes she hated what she was, the animal instincts taking over her brain, and sometimes, like now, she wished she could just unleash the animal, but that would mean more patients, more paperwork, and probably three more days without food. She finally turned, after staring at the closed and locked hospital door for a few minutes, and walked down the street. The Canteen wasn't far, and she really could use a sandwich and some coffee.

The Canteen was held in an old church, they'd moved the pews to the sides and left the floor open for dancing. There was a small live band playing, mostly songs from the States. They were playing one of her favorites and she couldn't help tapping her foot to the lively tune. She saw several of the other female officers in the medical officer exchange program and they waved her over.

"Look who came out of her cave." Helen said, a nurse from Texas.

"I'm hungry." Selina replied, but with a smile. Helen was as close to a friend as she'd had since her claws started growing at age twelve.

She sat on one of the stools at the high bar that was being used to serve food. A woman behind the bar smiled.

"What can I get ya, love?" She asked.

"What's on the menu?"

"We've got ham on rye and liverwurst on wheat."

"I'll have a ham, with mustard and all the fixings, and a cup of coffee."

The woman nodded at her order and Selina turned to the other women at the bar.

"So how'd the surgery go last night?" Helen asked.

"He'll live. I'm still not sure he'll keep the leg, and that's a shame for a boy his age." Selina said, thinking about the fifteen year old she'd operated on last night. If his foot festered again, she was going to have to amputate, and that would stop any chance he had of joining the Army.

Selina heard the sound of approaching planes just as her sandwich was placed on the counter in front of her. They passed over, but everyone still ducked. The Germans were killing them, one air raid at a time. The only thing she really wanted was to go home, find some guy that could put up with her unusual characteristics and have a house full of kids.

"I just hope this war is over..." She stopped. She caught a whiff of something amazing, she glanced around but couldn't see over the press of bodies on the floor. She could tell another group was coming in the door, but couldn't pick out any details. She took another deep breath. He smelled like the deep forests of home, wild and untamed, and she could feel a tingle growing down her spine.

XXXXXXXXXXX

**...outside**

"Damned RAF, can't even remember to muffle their engines over London." Victor grumbled as he picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. Jimmy was already back on his feet. Someday, Victor was going to wipe that smug look off his brother's face.

"Come on, I'm hungry, and if the patrol planes are back, that means no blitz tonight, besides its Christmas."

"Like I give a shit about Christmas." Victor grumbled, following his brother to the door of the old church. The only thing he liked about Christmas was the music, besides he'd never get what he really wanted for Christmas, never in a million years. He could hear someone trying to play some of Glenn Miller's music and groaned, didn't they know the damned saxophone was flat. As the door opened and the scents of the Canteen washed over him, he caught something tantalizing.

It was like all his favorite scents rolled into one package, fresh pine after a rain, a field of wild flowers, tinged with a dash of spicy ginger, and under it all the copper tang of blood. His mouth started to water, and he pushed Jimmy out of his way. He had to find the source of that scent.

"Victor, what the hell..."

"I smell something...delicious." He could feel the smile on his face, and felt Jimmy glaring at him.

"Don't hurt anyone, Jesus, Victor slow down..." He pushed through the crowded room. The scent was coming from the food counter where a group of American Army Medical Corps nurses were gathered in a group. His grin grew wider as he approached.

"...over before you know it, and we'll be back home soon anyway, our rotation is almost up." One of the nurses was saying as he pushed through them to the counter. He knew he was close, but there were about six of them and he couldn't pin point which one was the one he was looking for.

"Two sandwiches and two coffees." He said to the woman behind the bar.

"Ham or liverwurst?"

"Ham" One of the frails was glaring at him, and he let out a low growl. From his left he heard a slight gasp, but when he turned he couldn't tell which one of the three had let it out. The sandwiches and coffees were put on the counter, and he picked them up and walked to the table where Jimmy was sitting.

"What the hell's come over you?" Jimmy asked as he sat down.

"It's Christmas, fuck you." Victor growled, unwrapping his sandwich. He took a big bite and continued to watch the frails at the bar. One of them was the one he'd been looking for since he knew what a frail was. One of them was his mate.

"I thought you didn't want to deal with frails." Jimmy muttered as he ate his sandwich, glancing at the hostesses. Victor laughed.

"Why would you want somethin' like that, Bro." Victor pointed at the well used women who played hostess at these events.

"Victor, I got an itch, okay...and I'd like it scratched before we get to the front lines." Jimmy muttered back.

Victor just shrugged. There'd be plenty of chances to scratch itches, especially when the Krauts were pushed back. He'd heard German women were quite talented in certain areas.

Suddenly her scent was right on top of him and he reached out and grabbed the arm of a woman passing by the table.

"Do you dance?" He asked, glaring at her in a challenge.

She glared back. "Yes." He stood up and, still holding her arm walked to the dance floor. He swung her into his arms, and was amazed at how well she fit against his body. The music was slow, and he savored each second.

XXXXXXXXXXX

She didn't know who he was, or how he wove this spell over her, but she couldn't have resisted him if she'd wanted to, and right now the only thing she wanted was to stay in his arms forever.

"Are you always this forward with girls?" She asked, in a whisper.

"Only the ones I know I want." He whispered back.

"Arrogant, I see." she quipped.

"No, just confident." He was grinning at her, and she felt herself answer it.

"You smell delicious." He whispered, and she could feel the sharp tips of claws against her back, the only thing between her skin and those razor sharp tips was her uniform shirt.

"Really? How?" She let her own claws lengthen against his shoulder, and his eyes narrowed, but his grin grew.

"Like a favorite meal, one you could eat every day and never get tired of it." She laughed at that.

"As opposed to?" Her cheeks were actually hurting from smiling, and she realized she hadn't done a whole lot of that since this crazy war started.

"A feast you get only once in a while."

"I suppose I'll take that as a..." She started. The blast of the air raid sirens interrupted her. She jumped away from him, and started to turn. He grabbed her arm.

"I've got to go." She said.

"Me too..." She looked into his black eyes and knew she'd never forget this Christmas. She yanked her arm away from him, and with a leap over the crowds trying to get out the doors, climbed up onto the choir loft and out the door to a balcony. She leapt across the street, and climbed down the wall to street level and took off running toward the hospital.

She could hear the planes coming and knew she was going to be needed. Lives were going to be lost tonight, and she had to try to save the ones she could. In the back of her nose, his scent started to fade. She had time, it wasn't like she would die tomorrow. London wasn't that big, she should be able to find a Canadian officer fairly easily.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Seventy-two years later, Albany New York.**

She could hear that song. It woke her up from a sound sleep. Who the hell was playing "In The Mood" at this time of night? She grabbed her robe from the chair next to her bed and pulled it on. She opened her door a crack, but didn't see anyone up and about. The common room and study were empty, so was the kitchen.

A thud from upstairs told her that someone was still up after curfew. She climbed the stairs slowly. She could hear the soft snores of the girls as she passed rooms on either side of the long hallway. The music grew louder as she reached the end.

"Shhhhh, we don't want to wake anyone." One of the girls, Miranda, said.

"Too late." Selena said as she opened the door. The three beds had been pushed against the wall to make a clear space in the middle, Sandy was sitting in on the floor and Amanda was trying to help her up.

"Sorry, Ms. Greely." Sandy said as she got up. "I tripped over my two left feet."

"It was the music that woke me." Selena said. "What are you girls doing up at two in the morning playing old Big Bands music?"

"We got this idea for a fundraiser over the holiday break." Amanda said.

"That's months away."

"We know, but we want to try to do something about the Mutant Dorms. They need an overhaul." Miranda said. Selena knew she'd lived in the old World War II era buildings before pledging the sorority and she was right. They'd only been reopened because there just wasn't room anywhere else to put the freshmen that enrolled when NYU Albany opened its doors to all students, no matter their physical conditions, as they said it.

"Okay, I can see that as a good project. How many of the girls are involved?"

"Just us for now, we were going to bring it to a house meeting once we got the details hashed out. We want to do a Forties style USO dance."

Selina pushed down the wave of feelings at that idea. She had refused, after the Canteen dance, to go to another one, instead she'd spent her free time looking for the Canadian officer she met that night. She shook her head, clearing that still vivid image from her mind. Even now, she pulled up old images from the war, hoping to find his face in a forgotten photograph.

"Sounds like a good idea, but that doesn't explain all of this..." Selena pointed around the room.

"We don't know how to dance to this, we were watching stuff on the internet, trying to figure it out." Amanda said.

Selena laughed. "Well that is something I can help with. But tomorrow, back to bed." She waited until everything was put away and the girls were in their beds before she left the room.

Once in her own room, she was unable to get back to sleep. She dug in her closet and found her old Medical Corps uniform. She didn't know why she still had it, but decided to try it on. She was surprised it still fit. She stood in front of her full length mirror and pulled her hair up and back away from her face. She wondered if he would even recognize her after all these years, or if he even remembered her at all. She almost ripped the fabric from her body, but a last second thought stopped her, she'd never gotten a present that Christmas.

She hung the uniform carefully, she would help the girls with their project, who knows, maybe she'd finally get her Christmas wish.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Two months later, Westchester New York.**

"I don't know why you dragged my ass down here." Victor grumbled.

"Shit, Xavier wants ta talk to ya. Why'd ya think I called you, it ain't like I want ta talk to you." Victor knew that wasn't true, in the last five years they'd spent a lot of time talking, helping Jimmy get his memory back was one of the things Fury required of Victor in his parole program.

"Jesus, Jimmy, you're more of a pest since you got your memories back..." Victor started, growling, the fact that Jimmy was acting more like himself, the him that Victor remembered wasn't exactly endearing him to his brother.

"What's that?" James asked, pulling a bright piece of paper out of Victor's backpack.

"Some shit someone left on my bike, give it here, and I'll trash it."

"No way, this actually looks like fun." Victor growled again, he really did prefer Jimmy as Logan, he'd forgotten how enthusiastic James could be about things, especially his definition of fun which included frails and beer. Cage fighting Victor could get, but not the whole frail thing. He'd had his shot at that...he forced himself to forget it, again.

"I ain't in the mood for fun."

"Victor, the only fun you're ever in the mood for is a good fight. And this is even for a good cause." Jimmy handed him the flyer.

"Kappa Gamma Delta presents "A USO Dance" Forties dress required. Please come out and support our efforts to refurbish the Mutant Dorms on Campus. Ten dollar entry fee, fifteen dollars for a sandwich and coffee." The picture was from some Bob Hope USO tour.

"Well shit." He growled, but felt a strange warmth in his chest. He wasn't going to let himself have any hope. He'd given that up after searching every hospital in London before shipping out to the front after the blitz. He'd searched every time they were sent back for some R&R, but never found even a faint scent of her, finally, he'd given up. They'd switched Armies, going over to the Americans, and he'd taken everything he'd felt that night and poured it into becoming the biggest badass on the field.

"I think I'll ask Rogue if she'd like ta go."

Victor just growled again and crumpled the paper in his hand. He still couldn't get her scent out of his mind, or her face, the way she smiled up at him, the way she felt so perfect against his body. After all these years of searching, and he had searched, hell he still would pull up any old photos he could find, just to see if he could see her face. He didn't need some sorority version of a dance to remind him what he'd lost that night.

"So exactly why did you drag me down her on a class day?"

"Xavier wanted to talk to you."

"Shit."

He stormed toward the Egghead's office. One more year and he would be done with this crap, one more year and no more Fury watching his every move, no more monitoring by telepaths, no more keeping himself squeaky clean.

He didn't regret turning himself in, not really, but some of the damned restrictions on him really chafed. He heard a crinkle of paper and glanced down at the crumpled flyer still in his hand. So he had a reason to hate Christmas. He'd lost the only thing that mattered to him that night. He could blame old Adolf, but he really just blamed himself for not following her, to hell with orders and duty.

"What, old man?" He snapped as he walked into the room.

"Victor, I am concerned about your obsession with this woman. It isn't healthy, and you should be looking to develop healthy relationships with women at this point in your recovery."

"Couldn't you have just called me?" Victor snarled, he didn't need a lecture from a telepath about what was in his head.

"Well, you did need to check in." Charles said, with a slight chuckle. "You almost missed last weeks."

"Whatever, I'm going back to school, and last week I had a fucking test. You're the one that said college would be good for me."

"Victor, is this something you really want to do?" He could hear concern in the old man's voice and wanted to puke, but he thought about the question.

"Actually, yes. I'm enjoying classes at the moment." And he was. He was learning, not only about himself, but the people around him, learning how to get back in tune with the world, how to interact with people without blood and death.

"But Sociology?"

"I'm learnin' that's all that matters." Victor growled as he walked out the door, through the entry of the mansion and out to his bike. He was going to have to get notes from someone in his afternoon class, he was going to miss it. He looked again at the flyer in his hand. He growled and shoved it into his pocket.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Three weeks later, Christmas Eve, Albany New York

She looked around the tent. Everything was set up the way she remembered. Some kids from the Music department had a band set up on a small stage in a corner. There were two girls out front in WAAC uniforms to take entrance fee money. The coffee was brewing, and the girls behind the sandwich counter had a ready supply of sandwiches and doughnuts for those that might want to eat something.

"Ms. Greely, this is fantastic. We never would have been able to pull it off." Amanda gave her a big hug. Selena smiled, standing there, with so many people dressed in some version of uniforms, she was starting to get a tingle down her spine. She wasn't going to get her hopes up, but somehow, there seemed to be some magic in the air. "The decorations are perfect, I don't know where you found them."

The first 'customers' came in, and everyone was suddenly busy. She quickly ducked behind the curtain that separated where the girls were putting together sandwiches and started to help.

She became aware, slowly that someone was watching her. She glanced toward the closed flap at the back of the tent. Standing there in an Army Air Corps uniform, looking like he'd just landed a plane, was an old man with a long white beard and hair. He had bright blue eyes and a smile that she couldn't help returning.

"Can I help you?"

"I think I came in the wrong way." He said. His voice was firm, not frail with age as so many of the people who might remember her were.

"You can go right through there." She pointed at the curtain. 4he wasn't going to charge any of the old timers, not for a brief glimpse of their youth. "And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas indeed." She heard him say as he past her station. "but not yet."

She shook her head at the old man, and went back to making ham sandwiches.

XXXXXXXX

He couldn't believe they'd talked him into this, much less wearing his old Canadian Army uniform. He had to admit, Rogue looked stunning in the gown she was wearing, and Jimmy cleaned up halfway decently in his old uniform. He'd worn the US Army one, they'd switched countries in '43, spent the rest of the war until V-E day fighting on the continent.

He shook his head, he really didn't want to be here tonight.

He noticed an old man in an Army Air Corps uniform, and actually felt something like a real smile on his lips. The old guys like that were something else. Jimmy paid their entry fee and they walked in. Victor found a spot near the sandwich counter and leaned against it. Something was bothering him, tickling at the edge of his consciousness, but he couldn't put a finger on it. He nodded at the old timer as he passed by, and glared at his brother and Rogue. Did they have to be so damned cute?

Finally the old timer walked over. Victor smiled. He'd rather talk to someone who'd been there than some kid who had no idea what the 'Greatest Generation' meant.

"Canada, huh. Odd choice.". The old man said as he set his coffee cup on the counter.

"Not really."

"Oh?"

"It's what I wore, at least til '43."

"Really? Why'd you change?"

For some reason Victor liked the old man, he had a scent that was familiar, yet couldn't be placed, and it didn't bother Victor a bit. Later he would think it should have set off alarm bells.

"I met a girl at one of these, she was American, so when we got the chance to switch, we did, my brother and I've been lookin for her ever since." He didn't know why he told him that.

"Unless she's like you, she's an old woman by now." The old man laughed.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I won't look. Who knows, I met her at a Christmas dance in '40 in London."

"Ahhh I remember that one, old Adolf wasn't a very good buy that year."

"Sure must have made it hard for old St. Nick." Victor said with a chuckle. "I think he skipped London that night."

The old man winked at him, and smiled.

"Maybe...maybe he was just delayed. Merry Christmas, Captain Creed."

Victor watched the old man walk away, how the hell did he know Victor's name? He didn't have a name tag on.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She saw the old man come through the curtain again.

"Can I get you anything?"

"A sandwich, to go, I've got a lot of work still to do tonight, but at least this job is finally done." He said with a wink. She couldn't help smiling as she handed him his sandwich. She leaned over and kissed his rosy cheek.

"Merry Christmas."

"Indeed, Merry Christmas Captain Greely." He said as he walked out the back flap of the tent.

She ran to the flap, to try to catch him. How had he known her name? She couldn't see him anywhere, but somewhere, in the distance, even over the music of the band she thought she heard a deep chuckle and the sound of sleigh bells.

She walked back inside the tent flap. The scent hit her like a ton of bricks. She dropped to her knees.

"Ms. Greely...Ms. Greely are you alright?" Miranda asked. Selina could feel tears on her cheeks and she didn't think she could move. There was a sudden explosion of movement, and the curtain between the sandwich prep area and the rest of the tent was ripped down.

It was him. In the same uniform, and she could hear the strains of "In the Mood" starting to play. She could hear the clock on the student union strike midnight. Suddenly, she was in his arms. She couldn't think, his mouth was on hers and she honestly could have died at that moment and been completely happy.

He dragged her out onto the floor, swung her into his arms and her feet matched his step for step.

"Now, where were we?" He whispered, and she laughed. She remembered exactly what she'd been saying, seventy-two years ago.

"I suppose I'll take that as a compliment." She finally finished the sentence so rudely interrupted by German planes.

"I don't suppose I could talk you into a Christmas wedding." He whispered.

"I don't suppose I could talk you into a New Year's wedding...Christmas is a whole year away." She whispered back.

A/N

Okay I know sappy HEA at the end, but come on what do you expect for a holiday treat!

Actually this is one in a group of stories I'm fooling around with, the "when did Victor go wrong" series. For this one I chose some point before D-Day, since before that it shows him and James working as a team, D-Day and after shows him becoming more of a loner, relying less on his brother, and also paying less attention to James as a partner in battle.

There are other points I'm going to write about, but I thought I'd throw this one out as the point he gave up on humanity, and became the monster, all for the loss of a Christmas Dance.


End file.
